In the spirit of North-South exchanges, Europe sends its young to work in North Africa with the goal of transforming a riad in to a multi-ethnic arts centre; a kind of rural lodge where many students live together.Lucas, a young Frenchman, sets off from Marseilles to spend his holidays in the country of A Thousand and One Nights. Without much money, he travels in last class. On the boat, he meets Karim, a young traveller returning home, who owns a little hotel close to the souk in the capital's medina. He offers to let Lucas stay in his luxurious cabin, introducing him to arab hospitality and local customs.Twenty years after Harem, 17 actors show us the modern Maghreb where friendship and sensuality are one and the same thing.